Convertible top



R. R. HUSSEY CONVERTIBLE TOP May 6, 1969 Sheet Filed Aug. 24, 1967 INVEN70I? A OBE/P7 If? H0555) {WWW y 1959 R. R. HUSSEY 3,442,551

' CONVERTIBLE TOP Filed Aug. 24, 1967 Sheet 3 or s y 6, 1969v R. R. HUSSEY 3,442,551

couvnanam TOP Filed Aug. 24, 1967 Sheet 3 of s R. R. HUSSEY CONVERTIBLE TOP May 6 1969 Sheet Filed Aug. 24, 1967 y 6, 1969 R. R. HUSSEY 3,442,551

confrn rxam TOP Filed Aug. 24, 1967 sheet 5 or 6 FIG. 7

y 6, 1969 I R. R. HUSSEY 3,442,551

CONVERTIBLE TOP Filed Aug. 24, 1967 Sheet 6 of s United States Patent US. Cl. 296-117 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The disclosure relates to a convertible top having front and center side rails which are hingedly connected for smooth movement between a position of locked end-toend engagement and a folded storage or crash position.

The lock comprises a hook-like projection on the center bow link which cams into engagement with a cam block rigidly mounted on the front rail with the final locking motion being accomplished by relative longitudinal motion between the front bow link and the front rail, resulting from a slot and pivot pin arrangement.

The end of the front bow link has a cam surface which the front rail follows during the opening and closing operation. This insures that the weight of the header does not flop or snap the header and front rails during either the opening of closing operation of the linkage.

This invention relates to a convertible top having a cam controlled motion for the header and front rails and a positive locking mechanism to lock the front and center rails in aligned end-to-end relationship such that when the top is in the up or extended position, the front rail cannot move with respect to the center rail.

The prior art convertible top linkages which permit flopping and snapping of the header and front rails and other undesirable movement of the front and center rails relative to each other have created problems such as vibration noise and rattles, breakage of windows when the header is pulled down to lock it against the top of the windshield, and injury of persons from the force of the header and top as it flops into position.

The header can weigh over 25 pounds, and a convertible top constructed according to the principles of this invention keeps its motion smooth and continuous without snapping during both the operation of putting the top up and folding the top down to the crash position.

The smooth controlled motion provided by the novel linkage of this invention, therefore, insures longer life of the linkage with less maintenance while providing a positively locked rigid top supporting front and center rail framework during normal operation of the automobile with the top in the up position.

The invention involves a convertible top frame and linkage providing front, center and rear side rails with the front rails being connected by a header and top fabric supporting bows spanning from one front rail to the other, and from one center rail to the other. A rear bow of the retractable type is also illustrated, but does not in itself constitute part of the instant invention other than for illustration of the combination and its environment.

In the novel arrangement provided, the front and center rails of each side have a hinged connection for movement between a position of aligned end-to-end engagement and a position of adjacent substantial register in the crash position. In this position, the front rails and the header fold back upon the center rails by movement through an are greater than 110, but less than 180. The center bow links are pivotally attached to each of the center rails intermediate their respective ends, and a front bow link is pivotally attached to each of the front rails intermediate their ends. The front bow link includes a pivot pin and slot arrangement which permits longitudinal movement along the front rail. The center how link and the front bow link on each side are pivotally connected to one another at their ends opposite their respective rail connections. The front bow links each have a cam surface for the continuous engagement of the front rail during movement thereof to control its motion and prevent its flopping or snapping from the arcuate motion of the top to and from the crash position.

Another cam means is rigidly mounted on each of the front rails for engagement with a projecting cam follower portion of its adjacent center bow link. As the rails hingedly move into end-to-end engagement from the crash position, the last portion of the movement is controlled by the cam and follower and the front bow links move longitudinally for a distance permitted by the slot in the end of the bow link thereby to provide a locked end-to-end alignment of the front rails and side rails into a rigid structural unit. The operation of the cams and followers will be explained in detail later in the specification, however, it is sufficient to notice at this time that the action achieved is much like that of a screen door hook and eye arrangement. The locking motion being accomplished by the cam follower which acts as the screen door hook and the cam block which acts as the eye or member against which it is hooked by both downward and lateral movement. This locking arrangement is prepared by cooperation of both the slots which permit pivotal and longitudinal sliding movement of the front bow links and center bow links and the cam projections of the center bow links in cooperation with the contour of the cam blocks on the front rails.

Considering only one side of the mechanism, since both sides are the same, the center bow link is driven by a thrust link through a lost motion plate which is pivotally attached at one end to the thrust link and at the other to the center bow link. A flange on the lost motion plate engages the under portion of the center bow link during the early portion of the movement toward the crash position. This provides increased leverage for the thrust link in lifting the center bow link from the engaged locked position and operates much in the manner of a bell crank during the initial movement of the cam follower of the center bow link out of engagement with the cam block of the front rail. Once the follower and the cam block are disengaged, the thrust link continues to act through the lost motion plate but only as a link between pivot point and pivot point after the center bow link disengages the initially driving flange of the lost motion plate.

The center rail is, of course, pivotally attached to the rear rail and driven by means of a hydraulically actuated power link in a manner well known. The power link is pivotally attached to the center rail by means of an extension beyond the point where the center rail and the rear rail are pivoted. Thus, the hydraulic actuator, by creating pivotal motion in the power link, can drive the top to either the top up or the crash position in a manner which will be explained more in detail in the specifications.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved automobile convertible top which will have a rigid lockout between the front rails and the center rails.

It is another object of the invention to provide a convertible top which will control the motion of the front rails and headers such that no snapping or flopping occurs during either the operation of putting the top in the up position or the operation of putting the top in the crash position.

There is still a further object of the invention to provide an improved convertible top linkage which has a smooth motion from a completely locked and rigid position of the front and center rails to the crash position.

Additional objects will become apparent upon a complete understanding of the detailed specification and drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of a convertible top showing the top in an extended position with the automobile to which it is attached shown in phantom.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevational view of a convertible top in FIGURE 1 in the crash, or top down position.-

FIGURE 3 is a view taken along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 1 with certain parts omitted for clarity.

FIGURE 4 is a side elevational view similar to FIG- URE 2 with the top in a partially crashed position.

FIGURES 5-8 are progressive side elevational views in chronological order of the front and center rail hinge and linkage showing the top closing or extending operation as it occurs just after the point in the operation shown in FIGURE 4 until the time of its fully extended position.

FIGURE 9 is a side elevational view similar to FIG- URES 5-8 showing the front and center rail hinge and linkage in the fully extended top up position.

FIGURE is a top plan view of the front and center rail hinge and linkage illustrated in FIGURE 9.

Throughout the specification and drawings, like numbers designate like parts.

In the drawings, the numeral 1 generally designates a convertaible top for the automobile shown in phantom. The top 1 comprises a header 2 which is attached at the forward end of the front rail 4, it being understood that only one-half of the convertible top linkage along one side of the car is illustrated A front rail 4 is hingedly connected to the center rail 6 which is in turn pivotally connected to the rear rail 8. The rear rail 8 is pivotally attached to the bracket 10 which is fixed to the car body.

Pivotally and slidably attached to the front rail 4is a front bow link 12. A center bow link 14 is pivotally attached to the center rail 6 and by means of a lost motion plate 16, is connected to a thrust link 18. The center rail 6 has an extension 19 rigidly attached thereto which is pivotally connected to a power link 20 such that the power link 20 may be pivoted about a point to which it is attached on the bracket 10 by actuation of a hydraulic cylinder 22. The cylinder 22 receives pressure from' a reservoir and pump 25 through fluid lines 26 in a manner known in the art.

The front bow link 12 and the center bow link 14 are pivotally connected at their respective free ends with each other and with a front top bow 28. A center top bow 29 is pivotally attached to a projection on the thrust link 18. The rear top bow 30 is pivotally attached to an extension 31 on the rear rail 8 with a portion 33 of the rear bow 30 also being pivotally attached to a link 34 which pivots on a rigidly fixed bracket 10, This arrangement of the rear bow permits its retraction during storage in the crash position.

With this general understanding of the arrangement of parts when in a top up or extended position, a study of FIGURE 2 will illustrate the crash or folded top storage position in which the front rail 4, is folded over'in a position of from 110 to slightly less than 180 upon the center rail 6 by means of a hinge-pin '36 making a hinged connection between ear 37 of the front rail 4 and car 39 of the center rail.

In like manner, a pivotal connection 40 between the power link 20 and the center rail extension 19 and a pivotal conection 42 between the extension 19 and the rear rail 8 permits a folding back of the front rail and center rail and their associated links and bows upon the rear rail 8 and power link 20 such that each of the major elements are in register in collapsed position. Because of the particular clearance provided, as seen for example in FIGURE 3, the power link 20 fits within the confines of the rear rail 8 so that there are no projections laterally of the rear rail extremities. This makes a convenient and neat appearance of both the interior and exterior of the automobile and permits a wider back seat, but it is not per se a part of the novel invention and is shown by way of contemplated environment for the novel features of the invention.

It will be seen in FIGURES 2 and 3 that the power link 20 is actually made up of an elongated arm portion 20a and a bracket portion 20b which is pivotally connected to the bracket 10 at a point 44 and to a I-shaped link 46 at a point 48. The J-shaped link 46 acts to provide the power to the power link 20 through the pivot point 48 as the piston rod 50 of the hydraulic cylinder 22 moves the I link. In a similar manner, the rear rail 8 is pivotally connected to the I link 46 at a point 52 such that it is driven in an arc about a pivot point 54 fixed on a projection extending from the fixed bracket 10. The I link and a laterally projecting end of the rear rail 8 act together through the pivot point 52 to maintain a pivotal motion of the top about the fixed pivot point 54. Accordingly, the I link 46 pivots the power link 20 about the fixed point 44 and the rear rail 8 about the fixed point 54.

The particular lower actuator and power linkage illustrated is for purposes of showing one concrete manner in which the top may be actuated. However, the invention is not to be construed to being limited to this type of lower actuating mechanism and arrangements other than that using the J-shaped link 46 and associated members are specifically contemplated.

In FIGURE 3 it will be seen that the rear rail 8 has various stiflfeners 8a, 8b, and 8c welded thereon and a particular indented area 8d which surrounds the end of the bolt which makes up the pivot point 42. The portions 8a, 8b, and 8c are rigidly fixed to the rear rail 8 such that the portions 8a and 8c lie on opposite sides of the center rail extension 19 at the pivot point 42. The portions 8a and 8b welded to the main body of the rail 8 lie on opposite sides of the thrust link 18 where it is connected to rail 8 by means of a pivot point 63 and consequently in pivotal relation to the rear rail 8. The dual pivotal connections are, of course, possible because the thrust link 18 is free to move longitudinally at its other end as will be seen, for example, in FIGURE 1.

From the crash position illustrated in FIGURES 2 and 3, the hydraulic actuator 22, through its piston rod 50, moves the I link 46 which is pivotally connected to both the power link 20 and the rear rail 8. This moves the top upwardly until it reaches the position shown in FIGURE 4. At this time, it can be seen that the front bow link 12 as shown in FIGURE 4 for instance, has a slot 65 in which a pin 66 is situated to permit relative longitudinal movement relative to the link 12, as well as pivotal movement. The end 68 of the front link 12 is a cam surface for engagement with a cam following surface 70 rigidly mounted to the front rail 4. By action of the slot 65 and pin 66 in connection with the cam surface end 68 of the link 12 and the cam following surface 70 rigidly fixed to the front rail 4, the header 2 and front rail 4 are kept in constant cam controlled motion such that they cannot snap or flop in a manner which would be dangerous or damaging while providing for a positive lockout during operation of the top into the fully extended position. The associated locking mechanism carried on the center link 14 in the form of projection 72 extends downwardly to engage the cam box 74 rigidly mounted to the front rail 4.

FIGURES 5-8 show the front rail 4 and the center rail 6, when pivoting about their hinge-pin 36 just after the header and front rail assembly has reached the top of the arc and starts its downward motion. At this point, because of the engagement of the cam 68 and the surface 70 with the pin 66 in the uppermost end of the slot 65 of the front link 12, the top will not flop or snap down since there is no slack in the linkage due to the continuously cammed movement.

At this point in the operation, the cam block 74 and the locking projection 72 on the center bow link 14 are completely out of contact and in special relation to one another. A flange 17 on the lost motion plate 16 which is arranged to engage the center bow link 14 during the final and initial stages of movement into and out of the fully extended or top up position of the top, is also at this time spaced from the center bow link 14, as seen in FIGURE 5.

In FIGURE 6, we seen the flange 17 and the lost motion plate 16 in engagement with the center bow link 14 and the projection 72 approaching the cam surface 75of the cam block 74. The force of gravity acting on the header gives a steady downward pull on the linkage during this stage of the closing operation. As will be'seen, the movement of the center bow link 14 against the flange 17 also creates a force which pulls the end of thethrust link 18 with it. The front bow link 12 pivots about the pin 66 at the end of the slot 65 farthest from the center bow link 14. Because of the shape of the members 12 and 14, as the top moves through the position shown in FIG- URE 7 and into the position shown in FIGURE Sfthe pin 66 is more nearly in the center of the slot 65. This is accompanied by forward motion in the front bow link 12 created by the cam surface 75 acting on the projection 72 after it comes into engagement therewith" to move the front link 12 forward relative to the rail struc ture. As this occurs, and as the parts move into thefipal locked position shown in FIGURE 9, the motion created by the cam projection 72 moves the front bow link 12 so that the pin 66 is on the way to the rearward end of the slot 65 and the flange 17, because of the action ofthe center bow link 14 against this end, acts through the lost motion plate 16 to pull the thrust link 18 downward into the final locked position.

At this point in time, as seen in FIGURES 9 and 10, the top is fully extended and tensioned even though the header is not necessarily attached to, or in engagement with, the top of the Windshield. This fabric tensioning and locking provided by means of the cam movement insures that the operator of the top does not have to manually tension the fabric, but that it is drawn by positive power through the linkage from the hydraulic cylinder through the actuator with the cam motion provided by the cam surface 68 riding on the surface 70.

With this combination of movement, the projection 72, in effect, acts as a hook with the cam surface 75 of the cam block such that the hinge action between the front rail 4 and the center rail 6 cannot occur without a corresponding longitudinal movement of the front bow link 12. The importance of the fabric top 11 being tensioned at this point is that in attaching the header to the windshield, the operator need not pull against the fabric since it is already fully tensioned. Instead, the operator is merely pivoting the long moment arm created by the rigidly locked linkage about the fixed point 54.

During the opening of the top or movement from the fully extended closed position to the crash or opened position, the initial lifting assistance comes through the lost motion plate 16 and its flange 17 to initially lift the center bow link 14 and its projecting locking flange 72 out of engagement with its locking surface 75. Simultaneously, the front bow link 12 is slidably and rotatablymovmg with respect to the pin 66. To insure that this motion is smooth, an adjustment in the form of the threaded or otherwise longitudinally adjustable member 80 is provided with the rear portion of the cam block 74 for engagement with a suitable surface 82 fixed on the center rail to insure that there is no slack preventing the rigid locked end-to-end engagement of the side rails of the convertible top linkage.

It will be understood that modifications can be made in the preferred embodiment of the invention described and illustrated herein without departing from the scope and purview of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A convertible top having front and center side rails;

said front rails being connected by a header;

the front and center rails of each side having a hinged connection for movement between a position of aligned end-to-end engagement and a position of adjacent substantial register with said front rails and header folded back upon said center rails through an arc greater'fthan but less than a center bow link pivotally attached to each of said center rails intermediate its ends;

a front bow"link pivotally and longitudinally slidably attached to each of said front rails intermediate their ends;

the ends of said front bow links each having a cam surface for continuous engagement with said front rail during movement thereof;

each of said front bow links and its adjacent center bow link having a pivotal connection with each other at the ends opposite their respective rail connections;

cam means rigidly mounted on each of said front rails for engagement with a projecting portion of its adjacent center bow link as said rails hingedly move into end-to-end alignment thereby to create a movement of said front bow links longitudinally thereby to providea locked end-to-end aligned engagement of said front rails and center rails.

2. The convertible top combination of claim 1 in which the front bow links are pivotally and longitudinally slidably attached to the front rails by means of pivot pins fixed on said front rails which extend through slots in the ends of said front bow links such that the movement of said bow links as said rails hingedly move into end-toend alignment, is limited by the slots in the ends of said bow links.

3. The convertible top combination of claim 1 in which thrust links are connected to said center bow links by means of third members to which each is pivotally connected.

4. The convertible top combination of claim 3 in which the third members to which the center bow links and the thrust links are pivotally attached include laterally extending surfaces for engagement with the center bow links and the thrust links.

5. The convertible top combination of claim 1 in which the rear rails are pivotally attached to brackets fixed on the automobile for operation in association with a retractable rear bow pivotally attached to said bracket.

6. A convertible top having front and center side rails;

said front rails being connected by a header;

the front and center rails of each side having a hinged connection for movement between a position of aligned end-to-end engagement and a position of adjacent substantial register with said front rails and header folded back upon said center rails through an are greater than 110, but less than 180;

a center bow link pivotally attached to each of said center rails intermediate its ends;

a front bow link pivotally and longitudinally slidably attached to each of said front rails intermediate their ends;

the end of said front bow links each having a cam surface for continuous engagement with said front rail during movement thereof;

each of said front bow links and its adjacent center bow link having a pivotal connection with each other at the ends opposite their respective rail connections;

said front bow links being pivotally longitudinally slidably attached to the front rails by means of pivot pins fixed on said front rails which extend through slots in the ends of said front bow links such that the movement of said bow links as said rails "hinged- 1y move into end-to-end alignment, is limited by the slots in the ends of said bow links.

7. The convertible top combination of claim 6 in which the front bow links each include a cam surface for engagement with its respective front rail for cam controlled movement of the bow link and front rail when pivoting relative to each other.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS BENJAMIN HERSH, Primary Examiner.

JOE E. SIEGEL, Assistant Examiner. 

